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484 There was a separate department for Music. Students from other parts of the country came to Thanjavur to learn Music. There was also Bhagavata Mela at Mannargudi. - -- Western Music was also favoured and Musical Instruments like the Harp, Violin, Piano, French Horn were also introduced. 17. Educational Institutions - Saraswathi Mahal Sanskrit education was popular among the Brahmins. The advent of the Muslim powes necessitated the study of the Arabic Language. Telugu became the Court language during the Nayaks. Marathi was introduced during the Maratha rule. Marathi speaking families settled in Thanjavur in large numbers. Hence the elite at least had to learn these court languages in addition to their mother tongue. From the beginning of the 18th c. the English took active part in the politics of Thanjavur and English also had to be Hearnt. Tamil, the language of the land and the masses survived in the midst of so many languages. Some English schools were established wherein “for the first time in the late 18th c. the window to the west was thrown open to the Tamils”. There was the Nava Vidya Kala Nidhi Sala in the fort of Thanjavur wherein instruction in Vedic lore was given. There was also provision to impart education in six native languages. There were also Tamil schools in the four main streets at Thanjavur. There were also schools attached to the Chatrams and in the Muktambal Chatram 436 pupils were given free boarding and lodging. Out of them 183 searnt Tamil. It seems one came from Penukonda to learn English. - There were also special schools for the education of the Europeans. In olden days the Saraswathi Mahal was called Saraswathi Bhandaram. The custodian of this Mahal during Sivaji II was Varahappayya. An attempt was made to prepare a catalogue of the manuscripts in the Library in 1834. The items were classified under 24 heads. The catalogue would have contained 247 pages. Most of the manuscripts were numbered and the number of the drawyer in which the manuscripts were placeti was also given with a small description of each. There were many copies in some of the titles. In 1863 a catalogue of palm leaf manuscripts was prepared. In 1871. Dr. A. C. Burnel, deputed by the Governor of Madras catalogued the Sanskrit Manuscripts in three volumes,